CVE-2026-98959
btrfs: fix xattr replace when multiple xattrs are packed in the same item
Published Oct 23, 2026
CVSS 3.1 · 9.8 Critical
EPSS < 1%
KEV · Not listed
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
btrfs: fix xattr replace when multiple xattrs are packed in the same item
If we have a btrfs_dir_item item that packs multiple xattrs and then we
replace the value of one of them (with the setxattr(2) family of syscalls)
with another value of a different size, we end up not having a fully
initialized btrfs_dir_item, resulting in a corruption that the tree
checker will detect at extent buffer writeback time.
This is because in btrfs_setxattr() when we find a btrfs_dir_item with
multiple xattrs (due to the crc32c hash of their name being the same)
we delete one of the xattr items (btrfs_dir_item) and then insert a new
one, but the deletion and insertion results in shifting existing data in
the leaf and therefore when the new value of a xattr has a different size,
the new btrfs_dir_item is placed in a leaf section that was not
initialized and we only copy the value's data and set the value's length
in the new btrfs_dir_item, without setting the name, the name's length,
the key (which must be all zeroes for xattrs), flags (BTRFS_FT_XATTR) and
transaction ID.
The following script reproduces the issue:
$ cat test.sh
#!/bin/bash
DEV=/dev/sdi
MNT=/mnt/sdi
mkfs.btrfs -f $DEV
mount $DEV $MNT
touch $MNT/testfile
# Add two xattrs that, on btrfs, have the same hash (crc32c) for their
# name and therefore are packed into the same btrfs_dir_item.
setfattr -n user.foobar -v 123 $MNT/testfile
setfattr -n user.WvG1c1Td -v qwerty $MNT/testfile
# Verify the xattrs are present.
echo "xattrs before:"
getfattr --absolute-names --dump $MNT/testfile
# Now replace the value of the foobar xattr with a significantly larger
# value.
setfattr -n user.foobar -v abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz $MNT/testfile
# Check the xattrs have the expected values.
echo "xattrs after:"
getfattr --absolute-names --dump $MNT/testfile
umount $MNT
Running it:
$ ./test.sh
(...)
xattrs before:
# file: /mnt/sdi/testfile
user.WvG1c1Td="qwerty"
user.foobar="123"
xattrs after:
# file: /mnt/sdi/testfile
user.WvG1c1Td="qwerty"
So the "user.foobar" xattr is missing and there was a transaction abort
when unmounting the fs with the following traces in dmesg:
$ dmesg
[869800.159271] BTRFS warning (device sdi): access to eb bytenr 30474240 len 16384 out of range start 16015 len 25964
[869800.159293] ------------[ cut here ]------------
[869800.159296] WARNING: fs/btrfs/extent_io.c:4408 at report_eb_range+0x44/0x60 [btrfs], CPU#8: getfattr/2605179
[869800.168961] Modules linked in: btrfs dm_thin_pool (...)
[869800.190527] CPU: 8 UID: 0 PID: 2605179 Comm: getfattr Tainted: G W 7.3.0-rc3-btrfs-next-244+ #1 PREEMPT(full)
[869800.193726] Tainted: [W]=WARN
[869800.194502] Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS rel-1.16.2-0-gea1b7a073390-prebuilt.qemu.org 04/01/2014
[869800.197576] RIP: 0010:report_eb_range+0x44/0x60 [btrfs]
[869800.198985] Code: 48 8b 7b 18 (...)
[869800.203531] RSP: 0018:ffffce4541937d58 EFLAGS: 00010246
[869800.204609] RAX: 0000000000000000 RBX: ffff8dde054b8738 RCX: 0000000000000000
[869800.206137] RDX: 0000000000000000 RSI: 0000000000000001 RDI: ffffffffc04c92a0
[869800.207645] RBP: 0000000000003e8f R08: 0000000000000000 R09: 3fffffffffefffff
[869800.226175] R10: ffffce4541937a88 R11: 0000000000000003 R12: 000000000000656c
[869800.227594] R13: ffff8dde14be800f R14: 000000000000656c R15: 0000000000000069
[869800.229097] FS: 00007f59023bb780(0000) GS:ffff8de5788ed000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000
[869800.231137] CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033
[869800.232321] CR2: 0000558dc45e6a78 CR3: 0000000765b16004 CR4: 0000000000370ef0
[869800.233783] Call Trace:
[869800.234330] <TASK>
[869800.234791] read_extent_buffer+0x4d/0x100 [btrfs]
[869800.235898] btrfs_listxattr+0x199/0x240 [btrfs]
[869800.236912] vfs_listxattr+0x51/0
---truncated---
btrfs: fix xattr replace when multiple xattrs are packed in the same item
If we have a btrfs_dir_item item that packs multiple xattrs and then we
replace the value of one of them (with the setxattr(2) family of syscalls)
with another value of a different size, we end up not having a fully
initialized btrfs_dir_item, resulting in a corruption that the tree
checker will detect at extent buffer writeback time.
This is because in btrfs_setxattr() when we find a btrfs_dir_item with
multiple xattrs (due to the crc32c hash of their name being the same)
we delete one of the xattr items (btrfs_dir_item) and then insert a new
one, but the deletion and insertion results in shifting existing data in
the leaf and therefore when the new value of a xattr has a different size,
the new btrfs_dir_item is placed in a leaf section that was not
initialized and we only copy the value's data and set the value's length
in the new btrfs_dir_item, without setting the name, the name's length,
the key (which must be all zeroes for xattrs), flags (BTRFS_FT_XATTR) and
transaction ID.
The following script reproduces the issue:
$ cat test.sh
#!/bin/bash
DEV=/dev/sdi
MNT=/mnt/sdi
mkfs.btrfs -f $DEV
mount $DEV $MNT
touch $MNT/testfile
# Add two xattrs that, on btrfs, have the same hash (crc32c) for their
# name and therefore are packed into the same btrfs_dir_item.
setfattr -n user.foobar -v 123 $MNT/testfile
setfattr -n user.WvG1c1Td -v qwerty $MNT/testfile
# Verify the xattrs are present.
echo "xattrs before:"
getfattr --absolute-names --dump $MNT/testfile
# Now replace the value of the foobar xattr with a significantly larger
# value.
setfattr -n user.foobar -v abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz $MNT/testfile
# Check the xattrs have the expected values.
echo "xattrs after:"
getfattr --absolute-names --dump $MNT/testfile
umount $MNT
Running it:
$ ./test.sh
(...)
xattrs before:
# file: /mnt/sdi/testfile
user.WvG1c1Td="qwerty"
user.foobar="123"
xattrs after:
# file: /mnt/sdi/testfile
user.WvG1c1Td="qwerty"
So the "user.foobar" xattr is missing and there was a transaction abort
when unmounting the fs with the following traces in dmesg:
$ dmesg
[869800.159271] BTRFS warning (device sdi): access to eb bytenr 30474240 len 16384 out of range start 16015 len 25964
[869800.159293] ------------[ cut here ]------------
[869800.159296] WARNING: fs/btrfs/extent_io.c:4408 at report_eb_range+0x44/0x60 [btrfs], CPU#8: getfattr/2605179
[869800.168961] Modules linked in: btrfs dm_thin_pool (...)
[869800.190527] CPU: 8 UID: 0 PID: 2605179 Comm: getfattr Tainted: G W 7.3.0-rc3-btrfs-next-244+ #1 PREEMPT(full)
[869800.193726] Tainted: [W]=WARN
[869800.194502] Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS rel-1.16.2-0-gea1b7a073390-prebuilt.qemu.org 04/01/2014
[869800.197576] RIP: 0010:report_eb_range+0x44/0x60 [btrfs]
[869800.198985] Code: 48 8b 7b 18 (...)
[869800.203531] RSP: 0018:ffffce4541937d58 EFLAGS: 00010246
[869800.204609] RAX: 0000000000000000 RBX: ffff8dde054b8738 RCX: 0000000000000000
[869800.206137] RDX: 0000000000000000 RSI: 0000000000000001 RDI: ffffffffc04c92a0
[869800.207645] RBP: 0000000000003e8f R08: 0000000000000000 R09: 3fffffffffefffff
[869800.226175] R10: ffffce4541937a88 R11: 0000000000000003 R12: 000000000000656c
[869800.227594] R13: ffff8dde14be800f R14: 000000000000656c R15: 0000000000000069
[869800.229097] FS: 00007f59023bb780(0000) GS:ffff8de5788ed000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000
[869800.231137] CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033
[869800.232321] CR2: 0000558dc45e6a78 CR3: 0000000765b16004 CR4: 0000000000370ef0
[869800.233783] Call Trace:
[869800.234330] <TASK>
[869800.234791] read_extent_buffer+0x4d/0x100 [btrfs]
[869800.235898] btrfs_listxattr+0x199/0x240 [btrfs]
[869800.236912] vfs_listxattr+0x51/0
---truncated---
Affected Products
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CVE record
-
NVD configurations
No data
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Red Hat packages
No data
-
OpenCVE enrichment
Default status is the baseline for the product, each version can override it (e.g. patched versions marked unaffected).
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| Linux | Linux | affected |
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No data.
No data.
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| Linux | Linux |
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| Linux | Linux |
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| Linux | Linux Kernel |
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Remediation
Tracking
Advisories
| Source | ID | Title |
|---|---|---|
 Ubuntu USN |
USN-9018-1 | Linux kernel vulnerabilities |
| Ubuntu USN |
USN-9018-2 | Linux kernel (HWE) vulnerabilities |
| Ubuntu USN |
USN-9019-1 | Linux kernel (Azure) vulnerabilities |
| Ubuntu USN |
USN-9020-1 | Linux kernel vulnerabilities |
| Ubuntu USN |
USN-9022-1 | Linux kernel vulnerabilities |
| Ubuntu USN |
USN-9023-1 | Linux kernel vulnerabilities |
| Ubuntu USN |
USN-9024-1 | Linux kernel vulnerabilities |
| Ubuntu USN |
USN-9025-1 | Linux kernel vulnerabilities |
| Ubuntu USN |
USN-9026-1 | Linux kernel (Azure) vulnerabilities |
| Ubuntu USN |
USN-9039-1 | Linux kernel (Azure CVM) vulnerabilities |
| Ubuntu USN |
USN-9040-1 | Linux kernel (Low Latency NVIDIA) vulnerabilities |
| Ubuntu USN |
USN-9066-1 | Linux kernel (HWE) vulnerabilities |
| Ubuntu USN |
USN-9091-1 | Linux kernel (NVIDIA Tegra) vulnerabilities |
Metrics
No CVSS v4.0
Attack Vector Network
Attack Complexity Low
Privileges Required None
Scope Unchanged
Confidentiality Impact High
Integrity Impact High
Availability Impact High
User Interaction None
No CVSS v3.0
No CVSS v2
This CVE is not in the KEV list.
Exploit prediction score: < 1% (0.607% probability within 30 days)
Key SSVC decision points have not yet been added.
References
History
Oct 24, 2026 5:45 PM
Weaknesses updated
View changes
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Weaknesses | CWE-665 |
Oct 24, 2026 4:30 PM
Weaknesses updated
View changes
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Weaknesses | CWE-665 |
Oct 24, 2026 2:15 PM
Scoring metrics updated
View changes
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Metrics |
cvssV3_1
|
Oct 24, 2026 1:30 AM
First appearance in the feed. Affected vendors updated
View changes
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| First Time appeared |
Linux linux
|
|
| Vendors & Products |
Linux linux
|
Oct 23, 2026 6:00 PM
Weaknesses updated
View changes
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Weaknesses | CWE-665 |
Oct 23, 2026 12:30 PM
Description updated. Title updated. First appearance in the feed. Affected versions updated. Affected vendors updated. Added references
View changes
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Description | In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: btrfs: fix xattr replace when multiple xattrs are packed in the same item If we have a btrfs_dir_item item that packs multiple xattrs and then we replace the value of one of them (with the setxattr(2) family of syscalls) with another value of a different size, we end up not having a fully initialized btrfs_dir_item, resulting in a corruption that the tree checker will detect at extent buffer writeback time. This is because in btrfs_setxattr() when we find a btrfs_dir_item with multiple xattrs (due to the crc32c hash of their name being the same) we delete one of the xattr items (btrfs_dir_item) and then insert a new one, but the deletion and insertion results in shifting existing data in the leaf and therefore when the new value of a xattr has a different size, the new btrfs_dir_item is placed in a leaf section that was not initialized and we only copy the value's data and set the value's length in the new btrfs_dir_item, without setting the name, the name's length, the key (which must be all zeroes for xattrs), flags (BTRFS_FT_XATTR) and transaction ID. The following script reproduces the issue: $ cat test.sh #!/bin/bash DEV=/dev/sdi MNT=/mnt/sdi mkfs.btrfs -f $DEV mount $DEV $MNT touch $MNT/testfile # Add two xattrs that, on btrfs, have the same hash (crc32c) for their # name and therefore are packed into the same btrfs_dir_item. setfattr -n user.foobar -v 123 $MNT/testfile setfattr -n user.WvG1c1Td -v qwerty $MNT/testfile # Verify the xattrs are present. echo "xattrs before:" getfattr --absolute-names --dump $MNT/testfile # Now replace the value of the foobar xattr with a significantly larger # value. setfattr -n user.foobar -v abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz $MNT/testfile # Check the xattrs have the expected values. echo "xattrs after:" getfattr --absolute-names --dump $MNT/testfile umount $MNT Running it: $ ./test.sh (...) xattrs before: # file: /mnt/sdi/testfile user.WvG1c1Td="qwerty" user.foobar="123" xattrs after: # file: /mnt/sdi/testfile user.WvG1c1Td="qwerty" So the "user.foobar" xattr is missing and there was a transaction abort when unmounting the fs with the following traces in dmesg: $ dmesg [869800.159271] BTRFS warning (device sdi): access to eb bytenr 30474240 len 16384 out of range start 16015 len 25964 [869800.159293] ------------[ cut here ]------------ [869800.159296] WARNING: fs/btrfs/extent_io.c:4408 at report_eb_range+0x44/0x60 [btrfs], CPU#8: getfattr/2605179 [869800.168961] Modules linked in: btrfs dm_thin_pool (...) [869800.190527] CPU: 8 UID: 0 PID: 2605179 Comm: getfattr Tainted: G W 7.3.0-rc3-btrfs-next-244+ #1 PREEMPT(full) [869800.193726] Tainted: [W]=WARN [869800.194502] Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS rel-1.16.2-0-gea1b7a073390-prebuilt.qemu.org 04/01/2014 [869800.197576] RIP: 0010:report_eb_range+0x44/0x60 [btrfs] [869800.198985] Code: 48 8b 7b 18 (...) [869800.203531] RSP: 0018:ffffce4541937d58 EFLAGS: 00010246 [869800.204609] RAX: 0000000000000000 RBX: ffff8dde054b8738 RCX: 0000000000000000 [869800.206137] RDX: 0000000000000000 RSI: 0000000000000001 RDI: ffffffffc04c92a0 [869800.207645] RBP: 0000000000003e8f R08: 0000000000000000 R09: 3fffffffffefffff [869800.226175] R10: ffffce4541937a88 R11: 0000000000000003 R12: 000000000000656c [869800.227594] R13: ffff8dde14be800f R14: 000000000000656c R15: 0000000000000069 [869800.229097] FS: 00007f59023bb780(0000) GS:ffff8de5788ed000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 [869800.231137] CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 [869800.232321] CR2: 0000558dc45e6a78 CR3: 0000000765b16004 CR4: 0000000000370ef0 [869800.233783] Call Trace: [869800.234330] <TASK> [869800.234791] read_extent_buffer+0x4d/0x100 [btrfs] [869800.235898] btrfs_listxattr+0x199/0x240 [btrfs] [869800.236912] vfs_listxattr+0x51/0 ---truncated--- | |
| Title | btrfs: fix xattr replace when multiple xattrs are packed in the same item | |
| First Time appeared |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| CPEs | cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | |
| Vendors & Products |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| References |
|
|
Weaknesses
